SUPPORTING THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE SUPERFUND
TAX

WHEREAS,
“Superfund” is the name given to the environmental program established to
address hazardous waste sites, and is also the name of the fund established by
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of
1980; and

WHEREAS,
nearly 70 million Americans—10 million of whom are children – live within four
miles of a Superfund site, and are consequently exposed to toxic waste such as
arsenic, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, mercury and a
range of solvents, and potentially contaminated groundwater; and

WHEREAS, the
Superfund cleanup process is complex, as it involves the steps taken to assess
sites, place them on the National Priorities List, and establish and implement
appropriate cleanup plans; and

WHEREAS, the
Superfund cleanup program was largely financed through a “polluter pays” excise
tax to ensure that parties who benefit from the manufacture or sale of
substances that commonly cause environmental problems at hazardous waste sites,
and not taxpayers, help bear the cost of cleanup when responsible parties
cannot be identified; and

WHEREAS, the
Superfund “polluter pays” taxes expired on December 31, 1995, and since the
expiration of the taxes, Superfund program funding has been largely financed
from General Revenue transfers to the Superfund Trust Fund, thus burdening the
taxpayer with the costs of cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites, and
creating lengthy, burdensome and expensive legal proceedings; and

WHEREAS, on
June 21, 2010, the Obama Administration called on Congress to reinstate the
lapsed Superfund “polluter pays” taxes, stating that “Our taxes should be
paying for teachers, police officers and infrastructure that is essential for
sustainable growth -- not footing the bill for polluters;” and

WHEREAS, the
re-enactment of the Superfund tax will expedite the cleanup of Superfund sites
across the country, thereby reducing risk to humans and the environment,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors urges
Congress and the Administration to pass and enact legislation to reinstate the
Superfund excise tax.